33. Is Masculine Energy Impacting Your Perimenopause Symptoms?
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In this episode, we covered:
- Masculine vs. feminine energy
- One of the biggest drivers of hormone imbalances
- The impact of a go-go-go mentality
- Slowing down is necessary in perimenopause
- How I’ve been self reflecting
- New ways to get support from me
Hey, welcome back to the show. I can’t believe it’s September already; I am so not ready to say goodbye to summer. It’s been a really good one, because I’ve incorporated more down time, self-care, and connection with people I care about, which I’ll talk more about in a bit.
Masculine vs. Feminine Energy: Keep an Open Mind
In today’s episode, I want to dive into feminine versus masculine energy. Before you quit your podcast app and say, “Ugh, Claudia’s gone all woo-woo on us,” please have an open mind and listen to this episode. Because if you’re a go-getter, an ambitious, successful woman, like I am, you probably really need to hear it.
The Debate Around Masculine and Feminine Energy
When it comes to this whole “masculine and feminine energy” thing, I’m not an expert. I’m learning more about it and also having an open mind. And if you google masculine and feminine energy, you can go down a whole rabbit hole.
A lot of people say it’s total BS, it reinforces gender roles, it’s sexist, but I don’t believe that to be true and it’s not my intention with this episode. I firmly believe women should decide whether or not to get married, whether or not to have children, whether or not to work, and I think household chores should be shared.
Assessing Energy Balance in Life
However, I have been assessing my masculine and feminine energy and how it affects my business, my relationship, and my work/life balance. I also pay close attention to our clients, what they struggle with, their endless list of responsibilities, and the things they say out loud when they’re being really vulnerable. I have clients and even colleagues who have shared that they are tired of working and really crave doing less.
Understanding Masculine and Feminine Traits
So I think of feminine and masculine energy like Lightness and Darkness. One is not better than the other, but they oppose one another. And I believe we need a healthy balance of both feminine and masculine energy or traits, if you prefer.
Masculine energy tends to be more assertive, ambitious, logical, strategic, organized, action-oriented, focused, analytical, and solutions-oriented.
Whereas feminine energy is more intuitive, emotional, doing what feels right or good, and dare I say “surrendering” to things, versus forcing things. It’s more nurturing, sensual, with a deeper connection to our bodies, our environment, and our relationships.
Shifting from Masculine to Feminine Energy
As I self-reflect, I have noticed my masculine energy running the business, which has allowed me to strategize, plan, take action, delegate, and be a leader. But in my 40s—and yes, I believe the shift in our hormones plays a role—I notice I crave more flow, more creativity, doing things that feel good to me, versus doing things that I “should” do or feel obligated to do.
How Stress and Energy Imbalance Affect Hormones
I’ve been coaching well over a decade, working with women who have hormone imbalances. And one of the biggest drivers of hormonal imbalance is stress, be it physical and/or emotional stress.
Oftentimes this stress is doing things that don’t feel good to us, out of obligation, forcing ourselves when we need to relax. Overgiving, overdoing, overworking, people-pleasing when we really just want to say ‘no’.
The Impact of People-Pleasing on Health
I was chatting with a client who told me she had a really bad day, her mood was low, and she was irritable. She self-reflected and realized she agreed to go to an event when she really just wanted to stay home and relax. We often do things to please others and that can have a negative impact on our physical health.
The Imbalance: Leading with Masculine Energy
When it comes to these opposing energies, I believe it’s necessary to have both, but what I’ve noticed in myself and with clients is there’s an imbalance. We have lost some of this feminine energy or softness and are often leading with masculine energy.
Midlife Exhaustion and the Need for Balance
I believe it’s a big reason why we get to midlife and so many of us are freaking EXHAUSTED, because we’ve been doing so much and working against our hormones.
And yes, our hormone decline plays a role in all this, but like I’ve said before, let’s not blame our hormones on everything. Our diet, our lifestyle, our stress, our mindset, people-pleasing, and our inability to tune in to what we need—all impact the severity of our symptoms.
The Wake-Up Call: Time to Slow Down
Many of us have been doing, doing, doing for YEARS. But it’s not working for us anymore. The shift in hormones is a wake-up call that we need to slow down.
And I know that’s hard for a lot of women to hear because you may be at the top of your game in your career or your business. You’re raising kids, taking care of aging parents. And it feels impossible to slow down.
My Personal Experience with Downtime and Stress
I struggle with this myself, especially as a business owner. But I recently realized how much I’ve been “doing” and the little downtime I’ve had over the years. Since January of this year, I have launched something every month. There’s a lot of moving parts that go into a launch, a lot behind the scenes that you don’t see. And it can be very stressful.
The Importance of Listening to Your Body
In August, my body was like WHOA…slow down, Claudia. Some may say I was leading with my “masculine energy,” which again, is needed in business. I can’t just fly by the seat of my pants. I do need some strategies and plans in place to promote my offers and to generate revenue. This is my bread and butter; this is not a hobby for me. And I have a team to pay, so there’s pressure to meet certain financial goals.
Balancing Business with Self-Care
However, I felt a sense of frustration, overwhelm, and stress. And I just don’t want to feel that way anymore. I know the detrimental impact stress has on our health. So this summer, I’ve been reflecting on how I run the business, how we support women, my boundaries, how much I work, how much downtime I have, and how to prioritize more self-care.
It’s About Intuition and Thriving
Perhaps it’s less about feminine vs. masculine energy and more about listening to your intuition, paying attention to your body, your symptoms, and giving yourself what you NEED to thrive, beyond the foods you eat, the type of exercise you do, and the supplements you take.
Health is Multifaceted
Health is multifaceted. I believe the work we do, our relationships, our mindset, how we spend our time and energy—all impacts our health.
Redefining Priorities: Work, Health, and Relationships
I’m lucky that I have found work I love, that I’m passionate about. But my business is 1 part of my life and for so long, it’s been at the forefront. My health, my relationships, and my joy need to be at the forefront.
What Can You Take Away to Relieve Stress?
Maybe you’re feeling the same… Can you look at your life and take things away that aren’t necessary? What’s causing you stress? Is it your job? Can you look for something else? Can you ask to work from home? Can you have a different schedule? Can you create better boundaries with your boss or colleagues? Or can you find more things outside of work that bring you joy and peace?
Embracing Creativity and New Ideas
Besides slowing down, being more intentional with my time, making time for self-care, and listening to my intuition, I’ve also been craving more creativity in the business. I’m a very creative person. So I’ve been brainstorming more ways to support women.
New Free Resources and Programs
I created a brand new free resource for you, the Perimenopause Daily Checklist. These are 10 things I do daily to improve my energy, my mood, and maintain a healthy weight. Grab that in the show notes and start implementing what you learn.
Another new offer I created is the Perimenopause VIP Intensive. This is an accelerated way to work with me 1:1. It includes: a personal health assessment, blood work review, personalized plan, 60-minute deep dive session, and 4 weeks of private messaging support.
Perimenopause Made Easy
I also mentioned Perimenopause Made Easy, which I’ve offered before, but decided to restructure it so you’ll be done before Thanksgiving. It’s an 8-week live group coaching program, which delivers bite-sized education around the hormone changes happening in perimenopause and practical action steps to take, with an option to add an HRT consultation with me.
Closing Thoughts: Take Care of Yourself
That’s it for now—more to come as my energy and bandwidth allow, but I hope this episode was helpful to you and gives you incentive to start paying attention to your own needs and make changes where needed. See you next week!
Claudia Petrilli is a Functional Health Coach, Integrative Nutrition Coach, Women’s Health Educator, and creator of The Hormone Rescue program. Having experienced debilitating periods, digestive issues, a sluggish thyroid, a pituitary tumor, and perimenopause symptoms in her late 30s, she knows exactly what it’s like to get dismissed by doctors and spend years searching for answers.
To connect with Claudia Petrilli:
FREE GIFT: Peri-What?! The Must-Have Guide for Navigating Hormone Changes in Your 40s
WORK WITH US: The Hormone Rescue Program
QUESTIONS? EMAIL: claudia@claudiapetrilli.com
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